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Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Shrovetide Week, Part 2

I'd
like to continue my previous post telling you about the old and
re-create Russian traditions of welcoming Spring.

Shrovetide,
like any Carnival is inconceivable without abundant feasts,
festivals, games but still performances are the main component of the
carnival.

The old picture on the box cover

Celebration of Shrovetide in Yaroslavl, 2012

Church
included Shrovetide among its celebrations, as it is held in the week
before Lent. At this time, according to the ordinance of the Orthodox
Church is not allowed the use of meat, but is permitted consumption
of dairy products, including butter and eggs. People were trying to
eat dairy products, eggs, fish - and of course, the main dish,
pancakes before Lent which lasts 40 days before Easter.

In
the villages people made the symbolizing winter Straw scarecrow, they
established it on a snow hill and were sledging with songs. Guys
arranged fights and a capture of a Snow Town.

Celebration of Shrovetide in Yaroslavl, 2012

'The capture of a Snow Town' by Vasily Surikov, 1891

The
driving in a sleigh was an integral part of a holiday. The guys who
were going to get married, bought a sledge and drove in a
sleigh-and-three horses, called 'Troika'. They put the best harness
on horses.

'Shrovetide' by Boris Kustodiev, 1919

'Shrovetide' by Fetisov, 1990

According
to the Christian tradition, people asked for forgiveness and kissed
three times as a sign of reconciliation at the last day of Shrovetide
week, in "Forgiveness Sunday". All Shrovetide traditions
are intended to banish winter and to wake nature. Their symbol was a Straw Scarecrow dressed in women's clothes. People had fun and
then, with a good conscience, burned Scarecrow and said goodbye
to carnival until the next year.

Dear Nadezda,I really enjoyed this post. I like the traditions and it is good to see that they are being kept.I liked the cat photograph too. It is good to see the animals taking part in the festivities!I have not ridden in a troika but I would like to.I am looking forward to part three of your post.Bye for nowKirk

Kirk, 'Troika' is a very Russian invention for fast riding. As you can see one of the horses is harnessed to the sleigh, it is the main one.The other two horses are running in different directions: one jumps to the left and another to the right.Both lateral horses help to the main one. I do not know why people harnessed thus horses. We have nice sunny and cold weather now, thank you!

Loved your post, I found it so interesing ans the pictures are really lovely to look at. I love the "kissed three times as a sign of reconciliation at the last day of Shrovetide week", how brilliant.Thanks for sharing this

A wonderful tour through a carnival celebration that seems joyful and full of the promise of spring. I love to read about these different kinds of customs. Those young women dressed in their colorful skirts is a great picture and it looks just like the old box cover!

You're right, Laurrie! I also noticed a similarity to the old picture costumes and the costumes of singing women!I think designers studied a lot of traditional attire and recreated it for performance. Thank you!

Peter,the box covers were traditionally painted and then covered with lacquer to persist painting longer. You're right the Orthodox shrovetide is on March, 11-17 and Easter is on May,5 this year. Thank you1

Thank you for telling us more about Shrovetide traditions. The pictures new and old are very beautiful. The cat with the ;ancake, haha. I should love to drive in a "Troika" especially on a sunny day. These horses are wonderful. My grandparents had a sleigh and horses, so many, many years ago I had a drive, I shall never forget. It is an old tradition in The Netherlands. Nowadays the winners of speedskating in our country have a drive around the ice-rink in a sleigh with horses.

Janneke, it's wonderful that you have such a tradition of riding in a harnessed sleigh. I, too, many years ago, was riding in a sleigh with a horse, it is of course very different from driving a car!Thank you1

Darling Nadezda! I am delighted with your beautiful post.I love the traditions, customs ...I have to say that I love your music, dancing and wonderful costumes.There are few countries in the world with such a rich and beautiful tradition.I will come here and enjoy your post.I send greetings.Lucia

Lovely post Nadezda! And my cat loves pancakes too, I can’t leave the kitchen when I am making them or he will jump up and try to eat them! Your old pictures are lovely and the picture of the women in traditional dresses brought memories back to me. When I was a teenager I used to have a shawl just like the woman to the far right in the picture. It was a big fashion statement in Norway in the late 70s and most teenage girls where I lived had them – far up north, close to the Russian border, although we had no contact with Russians back then, the border was heavily guarded. Not sure what happened to my shawl but I remember I used it for years. It looked exactly like that one, black background with red roses and long fringes :-)

Helene, I suppose that the bright clothes of the Russian and Norwegians in the north helped people survive the dark and cold season. It is not surprising that people who lived nearby had similar bright clothes. And those shawl is really beautiful, I think you were very popular in your town! Thank you!

Hi Nadezda, wow such a great post. I would dearly love to ride in a horse and sleigh through the snow. Something I have only seen on tv, on christmas shows, they make it seem so romantic. Looking forward to your next post. Have a lovely week.

Hello there Nadezda girl !These are such beautiful art pictures of the holidays ! .. I love the costumes and the festivities .. and those pancakes look so tasty too! ... this is a wonderful holiday to celebrate while waiting for Spring to arrive.Lovely traditions to follow .. the closest I came to a sleigh ride is when we were sliding down hills on our toboggans as kids .. and that was great fun : )Joy

I just love some of the artwork that you have shown in this and the last post Nadezda. My favourite is 'Shrovetide' by Boris Kustodiev. The costumes, especially the skirts in the 2nd picture are fantastic too. Are the stripes made with ribbons?

Jennifer, I love this artist too. Boris Kustodiev painted a lot of pictures of the Russian way of life showed the customs and costumes in Russia 19-20 centuries. I think the women's skirts were/ are made from different colorful fabrics, with a decor (embroidered and woven patterns), and the silk, gold and silver threads. This was traditional Russian costumes. Thank you!

What a wonderful celebration Nadezda! I can't believe how well your second photo matches the first painting. Such beautiful, colourful costumes. Does this celebration take place near where you live, or is it only in the big cities?

This year Shrovetide week is 11-17th of March. We have different performances and games for adult and children in parks of St. Petersburg. The photos show this celebration in Yaroslavl city, last year. This is very old and nice city in the North part of river Volga. Thank you, Rosemary!

Hello Nadezda,Your photos are so beautiful. Gorgeous costumes, vibrant colours and amazing comparisons with the old pictures. It is very interesting to learn about the traditions of your country, of which I know very little. Thank you for helping me to learn more.

What wonderful traditions! I love the colorful costumes. They sure make up for all of the winter white.And now I am hungry for pancakes. LOL!Sorry I have not been around but the Google Reader was messing ups so I got everyone's back postings all at once. I wondered where everyone was. LOL!Have a lovely weekend.

Hi Nadezda, I had missed this post before. Good thing you added 'part 3' in your last post, that way I knew I had missed part 2 somehow. What a lovely post!!!! So colourful! Shrovetide really is a happy and joyful feast. Love the colourful outfits the ladies are wearing in your second picture, that is breattakingly beautiful! And those pancakes look gorgeous! Love the town in the white snow and the people enjoying all the activity that's going on.Bye,Marian

The costumes the women are wearing are beautiful! I'm not familiar with Shrovetide and do not observe Lent so this was really interesting to read. I would love to ride in a troika. :o) This looks like a wonderful way to bring an end to winter and welcome spring.

Welcome to Nadezda's Northern Garden!

I am Nadezda, a garden blog author for 6 years. I started this blog so that I wanted to share my love of gardening with others.There are over 250 articles on gardening, planting, some features of my garden landscape design, maintenance, soil, seedlings. I'm interested in travel, visiting Botanic Gardens and parks, my city Saint Petesburg.I look forward to and welcome your comments. I will try my best to answer all your questions.